Who Loves You?

Yay! I'm back with a card that I think is absolutely adorable! There's two separate websites that gave me a bit of inspiration. Copic Creations is challenging it's readers to show off the new things they got for Christmas. And Diva Coffee Break Designs had this cute sketch up. So I put them together and viola! A cute, very girly Valentine's Day card for my eldest daughter.


Trying to stay true to my rule of "Use My Stash" all papers came from my drawer, so I have no specifics. As for what's new... the white lacy border was a made by a Recollections punch I got for Christmas, and the image was colored in with my new Copics! I'm so glad to have a few more of those now. I dusted off my old SpellBinder dies to cut out the image and the scalloped frame. And I Inked them up while still in the die. It was nice to not have to "fight" my way through the creative process on this one!

Wish I were an Elephant

I saw this cute little sketch at Paper Sundaes. And I just happened to have a couple scraps left over from the layout I've done for my son's 12th birthday (pics coming soon), so I threw together this cute little card.



The adorable elephant is by Crissy Armstrong. I absolutely adore her work. Anyhow, I colored him in with my copics, cut a scalloped circle with my cuttlebug to mount him on, added some brads to the corners, and tiny jewels to the sentiment. Really simple actually, but he's still so stinkin' cute. Here's a picture of the inside of the card. (Partially anyway, I'm having awful luck getting it to focus!


Both sentiments were printed via my printer.

And though I haven't forgotten anything lately (I think anyway!) I know I will before too long, and how happy I will be to have this card waiting in my stash so I can mail it asair (As Soon As I Remember.) lol

Clean & Simple 80

One of the great parts about the internet is finding new (to me)challenge blogs. Thanks to a comment on my blog I found the Clean & Simple Stamping blog. There are times when I want to make a little work of art, but other times keeping it simple is just so much more effective. More and more I'm drawn to simple, elegant designs. Too bad the "cute" in my style always crops up!



I made this for Layout 80 at the Clean & Simple Stamping blog. The adorable image is Oliva from All That Scraps. There isn't much need for a rundown on "how to" as it is really simple. Thanks for looking!

Our Pack

One of my goals for this year, is to scrap as I go. Meaning to not be so crushed by being years behind on my scrapbooks. Yes, work on those when the inspiration hits, but more importantly scrap the now, while the memories are fresh. Since March is upon us, I got to thinking that there wasn't anything to scrap for the month of February. Then I looked through my pictures and found I was wrong!


Once again, I used a sketch from Nuts About Sketches. I love this color combo, so bright and cheerful. I kept the layout simple, adding a ribbon and bicycle die cut as my only embellishments.

Thanks for looking!

2 Page Michael

I'm back with another shot of baby boy!



Here's the next spread in my son's baby book. (Title page is a couple posts back) I wanted to carry over the same color and theme as the title page, so it doesn't look all that different. All though, I have a heck of a difficult time getting a decent picture. It sure would be helpful if we had some sunshine around here!

Anyhow, I started off with an old Nuts About Sketches sketch. Since this page is all about pregnancy and the excitement of his birth there is a LOT of journaling. My goal for these books is that when I'm not around my children and their children can look through them and find out everything I would be able to tell them. So there's a lot of journaling.

The stars and his name were all cut with MTC and my cricut. I inked the edges of the white pages with blue ink and did the same with the stars, though it's hard to see in this picture. Thanks for looking!

Be Mine

This week is going to be all about Valentines Day crafts. My four children are participating in a Valentine exchange with our local homeschool group. I don't have the numbers yet, but I'm betting I'll have about 100 valentines to make!

But for today I have a Valentine to share that I made for my daughter.



I started out with this great sketch from Friday Sketchers.

The cute cupid girl is from CC Designs. They have a bunch of cute as could be images. If I could color her over, I think I'd make her shoes the same color as the bow instead of the heart arrow, but it's still cute. I wanted to make her a blondie, but I don't have appropriate markers for blonde hair. Now I know what's next on my wish list. :)

Anyhow, I embossed her wings and the heart on her shirt with Bridal embossing powder. Then added some cotton candy pink stickles to the arrow. I'm happy with it, and I know my daughter will love it.
Thanks for looking!

Love You A Latte...

I'm back with another Valentine's card. This one for my hubby... hard to believe we're working on fifteen years! My how the time passes. The man loves coffee, and I thought the "Love You A Latte" sentiment was perfect for him this year.



This card is so yummy to me! Doesn't it just makes you think of Valentine Chocolates? I can almost taste them! I used this weeks sketch at Card Patterns as my starting point. I don't have any good coffee stamps so I had to make due. I found the image through google image and used my MTC to cut some stamp material with my Cricut. I had been wanting to try that out for a long time. I must confess I'm not to crazy with it's performance. The material doesn't accept ink to well. But I'm determined to use up some of my stash this year!

I embossed the brown background paper with my swirls cuttlebug embossing folder. I used Microsoft Word to print out the sentiment, then stamped my image and colored it in with my Prisma markers. Put it all together with just a few cross stitches added, and I think I have a good card. Not to girly I don't think. Now I'm just thankful that my husband doesn't watch my blog!

Wood Work

Well... it looks like I may have revisited my first paper crafting love... Scrapbooking. Here's two in a row! I had decided that this year I was going to scrap as I go. Meaning that yes, I do have 10 years worth of pictures to scrap, but that always feels so overwhelming. If I continue to try to start from the beginning, I'm going to miss today, going to miss the now. So I'm making sure I get the now done, and maybe I'll get some of the past done along the way.



Ever since our visit to my Mom's my oldest has been practically obsessed with firewood. Given the cold temps lately he and daddy went to gather wood and came back with a truck load. The mother in me didn't want to let my precious first born handle a saw, but with daddy's oversight he did an awesome job.

For the layout I chose boyish colors and roughed up the edges of a few of the papers, as we know, boys tear everything up. I used an older sketch from Nuts About Sketches. The title and campfire were cut using MTC and my Cricut (naturally.) Though this layout doesn't have much embellishments, I think all came together nicely.

SSSC32 - Shabby Chic Birthday

Hi again! I've had time lately to browse the web, and there's so many great blogs out there for inspiration! My "Blogs I ♥" list there on the side just keeps growing!

This card came about from the great sketch at the sweetest thing.



The papers are from My Minds Eye. I took marker to some chipboard shapes I had laying around, and glittered up the middle layer, just to give it a little sparkle. Distressed the edges of the paper and punched the holes and threaded through them for that sewn look. Maybe one of these days I'll get a mini sewer.

TESC 79 - Classic Birthday

I've had a successful crafty morning! Yay!



I used the last sketch from Taylored Expressions. I don't have any classic masculine images, so I hit to the net and googled free line images, and found this one. I printed it out on cardstock and colored away! I just wish I had a marker with some shine to do the chrome justice. But sometimes you have to work with that you have.

The papers are from the Basic Grey Cupcake collection. Though it's hard to tell, the car is up on thick foam adhesive so it 'pops' from the card! I added some vellum where the rear window would be to give it a bit more realism. The sentiment reads "Some things only get better with time." On the inside it reads "Congrats on being one of them!"

GS2

Yesterday was crazy in this house. To make a long story short, my 9 yr old daughter is now hobbling around on crutches. Her brothers of course think the crutches are cool, and it's been fun being mom to all of them!

So given the excitement around the house, this card took a bit longer to finish than normal. It's for one of my mother in-laws birthday that's coming up. (Before any one asks, I only have ONE husband, he just has two moms. Gotta love the family combinations now a days!) This time is a busy time of year as far as family birthdays are concerned. I have much to keep me busy. :)


I used the fabulous sketch over at Get Sketchy this week. (I'm still honored to have made top five last week!) I had to really ponder this sketch, it didn't come naturally to me. But it's always great to grow in your creativity and push through those limits!

The stamp is from High Hopes, papers from sei. The construction of the card doesn't need explanation. I couldn't have done the side fold without my Scor-pal! (Okay, so maybe I could, but it would have taken me even longer then!) The card is quite simple, but with the busy patterned paper if I added many more embellishments it would be over kill.

So there it is. :)

2 in 1 Celebrate

So what's a girl to do when she has so many challenges she wants to participate in, but not a lot of time? Combine them! I know I'm not the first to do this, but it is my first time to do it. I usually can't manage to combine challenges, but these two worked together nicely. :)

I was browsing last night and found a new blog! Stampin' Sisters in Christ. I love when I find places that put scripture right out there. It helps to remind me of who I serve! Anyhow...


I'm sorry this picture is soooooo saturated! It's the end of the day, and I'm out of daylight, what can I say?

This card combines Challenge #1 at Stampin' Sisters in Christ, and this weeks sketch at All That Scraps.

The papers are from a Basic Grey collection, the cupcake stamp from Inkadinkado. I don't have a sewing machine, so I punched all those holes by hand and threaded them with embroidery floss. I know, I must be out of my mind! This is destined to be my son's birthday card this September! He saw me working on it and told me he liked it. lol I'm glad I have his approval! I didn't dare tell him it was for him, and I'm so glad he didn't ask me who I was making it for!

2 Sketches 4 You - 33

Hi again!
I have another late night card today. I've been browsing the web a lot lately in search of new inspiration. I came across this sketch and just had to give it a go!


At first I wasn't sure I liked it, but it's been growing on me. I love the brown/pink and brown/blue combinations that are popping up every where lately. I'm just wondering if I overdid it with inking the edges. I wonder if I went past chic and into grungy.

This sketch was a challenge for me, because I don't have a scallop edge punch, and my corner round doesn't work with the "guide" off of it. So I defaulted to my Martha Stewart lace punch. The papers are from an sei paper pack, and the flowers are from my stash, probably spare parts brand.

Simple Threesome

Wow! How about them Get Sketchy girls eh? My last post has more love than nearly any other post I've made to this blog! They sure know how to lavish the love!

I have to apologize for the quality of this picture. It was taken late the night before I needed them! I made two sets of these cute little cards. One in the blue pictured here, another in a yummy peach color. Unfortunately I wasn't thinking about taking pictures before I wrapped up the peach ones, so you get to see the blue ones.



I made two sets of six of these to be prizes for the Baby Shower yesterday. Because of the quantity of cards, I needed a simple sweet design. The CAS08 (Clean And Simple) Sketch over at Splitcoast Stampers got me started. I used a Martha Stewart hole punch, then my wonderful scor-pal to emboss the lines above and below the holes, scoring the card fold at that time as well. Then I picked some general stamps from my TPC Studio Greetings set and stamped away. I tell you, having that embossed line does wonders for making sure your sentiment is straight! Then I weaved the ribbon, tied it off, and viola! A clean, simple, card.

Newborn Babies - GS Sketch 1

I am back today with yet another card for a newborn baby girl. Okay, well girlS this time. Yup, another precious sister I know through church is due to pop any day now. But she's expecting twin girls! So exciting! I tell you, there are babies coming out of the woodwork!


Yesterday I stumbled across a new blog: Get Sketchy. They're just starting up, but their first sketch was exactly what I needed to push through the late night and create something adorable!

The patterned papers are from DCWV's Nana's Nursery Girl line. The vellumn saying is from DCWV's Baby scrap kit in a stack. (Hmm... wonder if I like DCWV?) The flowers are my creation, as quilling is my newest adventure in this craft that I love. I gave them a generous dosage of "sugar". It helps them stand out, but also ties in to the glitter that is on the left side patterned paper.

All in all I'm pleased with it! Now I'm feeling the urge to create something boyish!

TSSC72 - Thanks a melon!

Whew... it's been ages since I've posted! For those that don't know, my husband is in the military, and we're getting ready to move. The movers have come and raided our house, so now it's relatively empty. I did keep my favorite crafty things however, and today I got to make a card. I have a big list of cards I need to make before we head for our new home, so the blog should see a little increased activity. Till we hit the road anyway. :)



It's my take on the sketch at Techno Stamper posted earlier this week. For the past year an amazing Pastor has been making a long trip to teach Sunday Evening service at our little church. This month is his last one doing that, so I wanted to make a thank you card for him. I really struggle making masculine cards so I'm fairly pleased with the results. I have many more masculine cards on my to-do list with Father's Day just around the corner!

Chocolate Butterflies

I have had a major creativity block for the last... oh... let's say MONTH! Life has been a bit stressful with the arrival of surprise orders for my husband, sudden need to sell our house and the list goes on and on. Yesterday was a cloudy, near gloomy day, but I thought it was the perfect soft lighting for a photo shoot. I took my daughter down to the river by our house and had fun photographing her. I just have to say that I absolutely LOVE my digital camera. I sit there and click away, knowing that if I take twenty pictures and get one perfect shot, it's all worth it!

So today, after coming home from church I announced that I was going to go play, and wouldn't you know it, a layout came to be...


Unfortunately my lightbox is disassembled at the moment, I was unable to properly capture the "yummy"ness of this layout. It's so rich, delicate and sparkly! It's pretty in real life. This type of layout is not my usual, I used a sketch from Creative Scrappers to get started. But I'm pleased with how it turned out. I think my daughter will like it to. :)

CSAD #197

I was tickled pink to be able to do two more cards for the Card Sketch A Day Blog by Susan.

This time I used her great sketch to make two different cards.



This birthday card seems simple and elegant. It's not my usual style, but I like how it turned out. The sentiment strip is a piece of paper that's been embossed, stamped and has double sided tape wrapped around the top and bottom. I then sprinkled a hefty dose of silver glitter giving it a nice border. It's definitely something I'd like to experiment with in different colors for different occasions!



This card varies from the sketch a little more. I straightened out the four squares, added some space between them, and straightened out the sentiment. I'm pleased with how it turned out, not to mention it was supposed to somewhat match the announcements I had made for the same friend. I'm so glad her adorable baby girl is here now!

Sketches are a great tool, they give you a great starting place and you can totally customize them to give unique cards!

Splash

I tried to create a card today. I especially wanted to participate in High Hopes' most recent challenge. But due to a lack of sleep last night I just stared at my stuff, unable to get an idea in my mind. I rarely know exactly what I'm going for, but still, I didn't even have a starting point! So I headed back to my scrapbooks in progress. Thankfully I was drawn to pictures from a visit to a park in Germany that were waiting to be scrapped.

I found this sketch at Split Coast Stampers that worked perfectly, just I needed to downsize it to an 8x8 layout.



I used three different flourish stamps with a light blue ink on plain white card stock. I matted all the pictures with light blue paper, then inked them and the background paper with darker blue ink. As I positioned the pictures on the paper, it seemed that the layout was really missing something. I decided to draw on the flourishes with a darker blue gel pen. I love how that turned out! That simple action gives them so much more depth! Now they really do remind me of splashing.

As for the title, I used my cuttlebug machine to cut out letters from thin chipboard. Gave them a generous coating of glitter and sealed them. As I laid the letters on the paper, they didn't stand out quite enough, now the flourishes were to strong! So I muted the background a bit by laying a piece of vellum where my title would be. Added borders of the same paper used to mat the pics, and it looks great. And of course, had to add a couple flowers. I wish I had some embellishments a bit more suitable for the theme, but they're all I had, and their colors match fantastically!

High Hopes Challenge 17 - Again

I have the greatest kids! I shared with them about the Guest Designer call at High Hopes, and they told me to try. I asked but what if I don't get it? Can I cry? My son denied me the right, my daughter said it would be okay. I showed them the current Design Team cards, and it's obvious my kids love me, cause they're far to confident in my ability. lol



Anyhow, I went and made this card off of the sketch to submit. I'm not sold on it though, I think I roughed up the edges a bit too much. Visually you wonder how the heck they're staying up! Really wish I had my old sewing machine working!

There's still time, I'm going to keep trying. On the bright side... I'll have extra cards!